The Project
by Mithvingiel
Summary: AU'ish:::A new project is issued for their N.E.W.T's which means Hermione will have to spend 3 months in a cottage with Draco Malfoy and NO MAGIC!
1. On The Hogwarts Express

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AUTHORS NOTE: This is my first piece of Draco/Hermione fanfic and I hope you enjoy reading it. Please review this story to let me know if it' ok and if I should go on with the plot. I don't mind criticism, it'll just show me where I need to improve ^_^

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story, they all belong to JK Rowling.

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SUMMARY: A new project is issued for their N.E.W.T's which means Hermione will have to spend 3 months in a cottage with Draco Malfoy with NO MAGIC. When her life is put in SERIOUS DANGER, her view on him changes completely! 

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On The Hogwarts Express:

Hermione Granger stood beside her parents trying to spot her best friends. She'd been looking forward to returning to Hogwarts all summer. She'd receive a few letters from her friends asking how she was but none asking if she'd like to meet up with them some time. So she spent the summer sat in her garden, reading romantic novels which she guessed was a change from the usual ones she read.

"Now Hermione," Hermione turned round to face her mother who gave her a hug "Owl me as soon as your settled in"

"I will mother. You and dad take care of each."

Hermione couldn't be bothered to stand around waiting any longer so she decided to get on the train and find an empty compartment whilst there was some left.

She kissed her parents good bye and, picking up her luggage, got onto the train.

Hermione made her way past many compartments until at last she finally found one that was empty. After placing her luggage safely in one corner of the compartment, she sat back and let out a deep breath.

She gazed out of the window and looked at the clock. "_One minute 'til the train leaves." _Hermione thought _"I hope their already on the train or their going to miss it…again!"_

A whistle blew and the train started to move. Hermione scanned the crowed to see if she could see them any where. Seeing as they weren't, Hermione shrugged her shoulders and lent over to retrieve an item out of the new rucksack her mother brought her. The item was her new Discman which her mother also brought her, along with some cd's from her favourite muggle artists. 

She turned it on, placed the earphones in her ears, pressed play, closed her eyes and lent back. Hermione began to hum along with the tune and then began singing the words to the song:

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~Daytime, I'm fine

Everything is back to normal

Last night I thought that I would die.

I had nightmares I was so scared,

Thank god that you were by my side

To hold me when I cried~

Draco Malfoy made his way down the train with the usual scowl on his face, scaring all the first years as he past them by. 

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"That stinking fucking Potter!!" Draco shouted in his head _"One of these days I'm gonna rip that stupid smirk right of his stupid fucking face!!" _He grabbed Neville when he spotted him coming out of one of the compartments and pushed him against the wall.

"What…do…you want now…Malfoy" Neville asked whilst trying to breath.

"Tell him to watch his back or he's gonna get a nasty surprise!" Draco loosened his grip on Neville, allowing him to run down the hall to give Harry Potter his message.

Taking a deep breath and straightening his robes, Draco continued his journey down the train but stopped in front of one compartment in particular. Hermione's. Gazing in he noticed that she had her eye's closed and seemed to be singing to some un-heard music. He opened the door and sat on the seat opposite her.

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~As long as I am with you,

As long as I can feel you

That's all I need

To keep me going on and on and on and on……

I wanna believe that I save the world and make it right

But I'm only human,

And you got a hero's faith

Right here in your arms is the safest place

Right here in your arm's is the safest place

The safest place

The safest place~

Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco sitting opposite her, arms crossed and a smirk across his face.

"Nice voice Granger."

"What do you want Malfoy?" snapped Hermione "Come to tease me about my voice?"

"Granger, you think so low of me." He leaned forward and gave her a wink. "I think you've got a good singing voice actually."

Hermione rolled her eyes back and placed her Discman back in her rucksack. "Yeah right. In all the years I've known you Malfoy you've never once complimented about anything…well not good compliments anyway."

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That muggle thing you just put in your bag. What does it do?"

Hermione rolled her eyes again, this time tutting whilst she did. "That muggle thing, Malfoy, happens to be a Discman. You place a CD inside it and it plays music which you can hear through these." She pulled out one of the earphones and lent over to place it in Draco's ear.

"Watch it Granger! What do you think your doing?" Malfoy shouted.

"Oh do shut up. You have to place these in your ears to actually hear the music you git!" Hermione placed herself on the seat next to Draco waiting for him to give her the OK to put them in his ears.

"Oh…OK." He relaxed a little whilst she put them inside his ears, breathing in her scent as she did. "That better be all!"

Hermione pressed the play button and switched to track six. Music began playing in Draco's ears.

For awhile they just sat there whilst he listened to it. Hermione noticed the small smile that was creeping across his face as the track neared the end. When it finished she took out the earphones.

"So. What do you think?" She waited for him to reply.

"It's…OK I guess." That wasn't true though, he actually loved the song that he had listened too. But of course, being Draco Malfoy, he covered it up.

"Uh huh." She didn't believe it for one second.

"What?"

"Oh nothing," Hermione snickered whilst she placed the Discman back into her rucksack.

"What Hermione?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her down to sit back next to him.

Hermione patted her hand on his thigh and looked at him with an amused smile. "I think you actually like my muggle music"

Just as Draco was about to disagree with her Pansy Parkinson came through the door.

"Draco I've been looking all over for you!" Pansy shouted and then Hermione caught her eye. "She's the last person I would have expected to find you ALONE with. What are you doing with the Mudblood?"

Draco got up and quickly walked over to her. "Uh…why would you think I'd be near her? Come on, let's go Pansy." He took her hand in his and led her out of the compartment whilst the two girls exchanged looks of disgust.

Once they'd gone, Hermione's smile grew wide as she laid herself down across the seat.

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If you want more you know what you have to do….leave me a review _^_^_


	2. Dumbeldore's Announcements

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AUTHORS NOTE: I would like to thank all those who have reviewed my first chapter, they were much appreciated. 

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innocent**teen: I particularly appreciate your review. Thank you for pointing out the parts which could have been put better. I took your advise and I've redone the chapter, correcting some of the dialogue. I hope it's better now. I know that the characters aren't exactly like they are in the books but I need them like this for the moment so I can carry on with the plot I have laid out. Don't worry, I will have them showing some of their original characteristics later on in the story **_^_^_**

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Dumbeldore's Announcement

As the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a loud whistle was blown to let all the students know that they had arrived.

Students of all years began to grab their luggage and make their way off the train and onto the platform beside it. 

Hermione gazed around the crowd and spotted Ginny Weasley and waved to her.

"Hermione!!!" shouted Ginny as she ran to embrace her best friend. "You look fantastic!"

"Aw thanks Ginny," replied Hermione as she returned the hug. "You look wonderful too!"

"Come on, lets get into one of the carriages and you can tell me all about your summer holiday."

The two best friends dropped their luggage and linked arms as they walked over to where a long line of carriages was awaiting the students. They climbed into one and were soon joined by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

"Hey Hermione!" said Harry cheerfully as he climbed into the boat. "What's up?"

"Where were you two? I was waiting for you at the train station."

"Oh…um...well you see. Harry thought he'd play a little trick on Malfoy…" Ron began to explain but Hermione cut him off.

"One of these days you two are going to get into a lot of trouble!" The two boys lowered their heads and gazed at their feet, expecting Hermione to give them the usually speech. Instead Hermione smiled and then chuckled "What was the trick?"

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Hermione and her friends entered the Great Hall and grabbed their usual seats at the Gryffindor table. 

The students chattering was brought to a halt when Dumbeldore stood up and cleared his throat. Everyone's attention was on the line of the new first years that stood at the front of the hall. _"They look so nervous." _Hermione thought. _"I remember feeling like that when I was up there on my first day. Time's flown so fast!"_

As Dumbeldore sat back down, a familiar song began and was sung by a familiar hat that sat on a stool up front. The Sorting Hat. One by one, the first years sat upon the stool as their names were called out from a list by Professor McGonagall. She placed the sorting hat on their heads and it decided which house they would most suit to be placed in.

When the sorting had finished, Dumbeldore stood up again and welcome everyone back to Hogwarts. He also gave the usual warning that no students should enter the Forbidden Forest.

"I have but one other notice. All seventh years are to stay behind after the feast for I have an important announcement. Right, that about covers all I need to say. Let the feasting begin!"

Dumbeldore said a few words which the first years didn't quite understand until food suddenly appeared on the tables. All the plates that were once empty were soon filled with all sorts as the students began feasting.

All through the feast, the seventh years talked about what the announcement could be about.

When the feast had ended, the students were advised to go and get some rest for their lessons would begin first thing in the morning after breakfast.

The remaining seventh years made their way up to the front of the hall so they could hear what Dumbeldore had to say more clearer.

"I would like to thank you all for staying behind so I could talk to you." Dumbeldore began. "As you all know, this year is very important for you all because you will be taking your N.E.W.T.S. The Ministry of Magic has issued a new project that you will ALL have to take because it will stand for half of your overall grade."

"The Ministry of Magic has decided that you should learn how to survive in the world WITHOUT the use of your magic." Grunts and moans could be heard amongst the crowd. "Now now. This project will give you important skills which will later on help you in life. I for one, think this project is a brilliant idea!"

"This idea sucks!! What is the point of it?" Blaise Zambini blurted out.

"The point of this project, Mr Zambini, is to prepare you for if you were to become lost somewhere, away from the civilised world, with NO magic to aid you in your survival."

"I agree with you professor Dumbeldore. I'm sure this project will indeed give us some very important skills and I can't wait to get started!"

"That's the spirit Hermione. Now off to bed with you all and we shall all meet back her after breakfast. I will fill you in with the details about the project tomorrow."

The seventh years made their way out of the Great Hall and _"Typical Hermione!" _could be heard coming from some.

Dumbeldore stopped Hermione and Draco.

"Well. I guess I'd better show you to your new quarters."

"New quarters sir?" asked Hermione as she looked at Draco with a questioning look on her face.

"Yes Granger. Haven't you've been told? I'm the new head boy and YOU'RE the new head girl." explained Draco.

Hermione turned to face Dumbeldore and her face immediately lit up when he gave her a smile which confirmed that what Draco said was true. A high pitched squeal filled the Great Hall as she jumped up and down on the spot with excitement. "This is such fantastic news! Me, head girl! I can't wait to owl mother in the morning. She'll be so proud."

"Looks like someone's happy!" chuckled Draco as he watched Hermione throw her arms around Dumbeldore and thank him.

Another squeal of excitement filled the room and this time she went to hug Draco.

"Don't even think about it Granger!" spat Draco as he backed away from her.

"Oh I'm sorry Malfoy, no need to get your knickers in a twist!" Hermione turned back round to face Dumbeldore and squealed once again, "I'm the new head girl!!"

Dumbeldore placed his hand upon her shoulder to calm her down. "You deserve this position more than any other in your year. Your perfect for the job." 

Hermione breathed in and out to regain her composer then followed behind Draco as Dumbeldore led them to their new quarters.

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If you want more you know what you have to do….leave me a review _^_^_


	3. The Day Before

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would just like to thank you all for reviewing my story and also I'd like to thank my beta for helping me out ^_^

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The Day Before

Hermione awoke to the sound of water running in the room next door. She stretched her arms and decided to have a shower before she went down to breakfast. Pulling back the red silken sheets, she sat up and got out of bed.

As Hermione walked across her new bedroom she stopped to pick up her scarlet dressing gown which bared the Gryffindor badge on the chest pocket. She pulled it on and glanced around the room. 

The room was bigger than the one she shared in the Gryffindor dormitories. The walls were covered with a red and gold patterned wallpaper and the soft carpet was a deep red. The room was quite bare apart from a large, dark mahogany wardrobe and desk and a king-sized double bed. A few shelves also were hung on the walls for her to store some of her belongings. The bed was covered with scarlet red sheets and pillows to match the drapes that hung from the bed's posts. Hermione's trunk and bag still sat in the corner next to the door.

She had decided last night that she would unpack her things after she'd had breakfast and listened to what Professor Dumbledore had to say about the new "project".

Hermione, opening the door, waltzed into the common room (which she now shared with Draco Malfoy) and over to the bathroom. 

She knocked on the door but there was no answer so she knocked again. 

"Hold up Granger, I'm trying to get washed!" shouted Draco as he rinsed his platinum blond hair.

"You've got two minutes Malfoy, hurry up!" Hermione shouted back as she went to sit down in a chair.

Draco muttered under his breath as he grabbed the bar of soap and began rubbing it against his milky skin. _"Why should I hurry up for HER?" _he thought as he put the soap back down and stood back underneath the shower head. _"I mean, it may take her two seconds to get washed but it doesn't with me. Who does she think she is anyway, telling ME to hurry up? Stupid Mudblood!"_

Draco turned off the shower and, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around his waist, stepped out of the shower and walked over to the sink. He picked up his toothbrush and toothpaste and began brushing his teeth.

Another knock came from the door. "Hurry up Malfoy!"

"Fuck off Granger." Draco tried to shout with a mouth full of toothpaste. He gazed into the mirror and shook his head.

Hermione was getting annoyed now and banged on the door loudly. "Your not the only one here who needs to get washed in the morning you know." There was no reply. She knocked on the door again. "Malfoy if you don't come out of there this instance I'm gonna…"

"Your gonna what Granger?" Hermione was now looking at a half naked Draco. "Gonna go moan to McGonagall like always?" He was watching her and noticed that she was looking at him with her mouth open as if she was trying to find something to say in reply. "Like what you see Granger?" he sniggered.

"I…no of course not!" Hermione lied as she tried to push past him so she could enter the bathroom. He was blocking her way in and she was beginning to blush. "Get out of my way Malfoy. Now!"

Draco let her past and chuckled as she dashed inside and slammed the door behind her. He walked over to his room with a smug look on his face. He'd made Hermione blush.

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Breakfast was like it always was: Hermione eating whilst listening to Ron and Harry chatter on about Quidditch and brooms. She'd really hoped their infatuation with them had managed to die down over the summer but who was she kidding.

The hall was almost empty as everyone but the seventh years had gone to lessons. Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat.

"Ah I see your all almost here. Where is Mr. Malfoy and Miss. Parkinson?"

"She's probably giving him a blow job down in the dungeons!" Ron snickered and the rest of the Gryffindor's laughed along with him.

Draco and Pansy walked into the hall. Pansy's face was flushed and she tried to straighten her hair down as she noticed Dumbledore looking at the both.

Draco noticed that he was looking at them expectedly and shouted out the first lie that he thought of. "Sorry we're late. We um…Pansy fell down in the corridor and I was helping her back up."

"You mean fell face down on your dick!" The Gryffindor's burst out laughing again. Draco scowled at Ron as he passed by and sat down in a chair at the Slytherin table.

Dumbledore coughed loudly and the room quietened and turned to face him. "Now, about this project. You will all be set in groups of six and shall share a cottage which is located in a hidden place away from near civilisation so you can't cheat. The groups have been picked by myself and Professor Snape." Snape smirked as he gazed over them. Moans were heard from the Gryffindor's.

"The project will last for a month beginning tomorrow morning. Inside your cottage you will find a letter which will tell you more about the project and also contains a list of things you will need to do. Everything must be completed for you to pass. I want you all to remember that the object of this is to SURVIVE so try not to kill one another whilst your away!" He paused waiting for them to laugh at his little joke but there was only a few un-enthusiastic ones. 

"Right, well, off you all go. Your lessons have been cancelled for today so you can get a chance to pack and owl loved ones if you wish. You need not pack too much except clothing and essentials. We will all meet down here at 6 o'clock sharp for your departure."

Hermione's hand sprung right up.

"Yes Miss. Granger."

"When do we find out which groups we're in?"

"You will find a list with all the groups in your house common rooms."

Everyone stood up and began to walk back to the common rooms, picking up the pace as soon as they were out of sight of Dumbledore. Soon breaking into a sprint.

Once she'd arrived in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione pushed her way through the crowd towards the list which was pinned on the wall.

"Ah no!"

"What's wrong Ron?" Hermione asked as she jumped up and down to try and look over the heads of those who were in front of her.

"I'm in a group which is all Hufflepuff's and Slytherin's. I'm the only Gryffindor!"

Hermione managed to get passed a few more and was finally looking at the list. She ran her finger down the list until, she found her name. 

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Group Seven

Harry Potter

Neville Longbottom

Hermione Granger

Pansy Parkinson

Lavender Brown

Draco Malfoy

"Just great!" Hermione muttered un-enthusiastically. 

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Hermione stood in the owlry, fastening a letter to a large snowy-white owl. She'd finished packing over an hour ago and decided to visit some friends over in Gryffindor. Unfortunately, they were all still packing and she found it a little too hectic over there so she decided to send an owl.

She'd written her parents a letter to let them know she had arrived at Hogwarts safely and that she was OK.

Hermione had just turned to leave when she knocked into someone and fell to the floor. The person held out a hand and she held onto it as she was pulled back up. She patted her robes and look up.

"You should watch where your going Granger."

"Well if you weren't in the way I probably wouldn't have bumped into you would I, Malfoy?"

Draco rolled his eyes back and Hermione turned the other way to leave. "Your in my group Granger."

"So? What about it?" Hermione began to walk away.

"I hope your not going to be a nightmare to live with!"

She stopped and turned to face him with a scowl on her face. "YOU'RE the one that's going to be a nightmare to live with, not me!"

"As if!" Draco spat back at her as she walked away. His fists clenched as he felt Anger boil up inside him. "That stupid...fucking…MUDBLOOD!!" Draco's fist collided with the wall.

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	4. The Cottage

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks again for the reviews, much appreciated, and also thanks to my BETA. I decided to change the summary for my story so people could get a better idea of what the story is gonna be about. I also changed a part of the second chapter which talks of them jumping into the boats for the journey over to the castle which someone pointed out is only for first years. I'd only just read up to book two and seen the movies so that's why I didn't know LOL ^_^

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The next day at 6:00am, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was buzzing with excitement as the seventh years awaited Dumbledore. A great pile of trunks and bags lay in front of the teachers table.

Hermione sat with her friends at the Gryffindor table, discussing what the next three months were going to be like.

Draco, on the other hand, was sitting at the Slytherin table casting a healing spell on his hand as he didn't fancy going to see Madam Pomfrey. He hadn't had the chance last night seeing as he didn't return to his room where he'd left his wand (most unlike him!).

As Dumbledore entered the room along with Professor Snape and McGonagall, the room fell silent as they stood in front of the pile pf luggage. 

"Good morning students. Before you leave we will have to do a quick spell to make sure you haven't packed anything which is of no need."

One by one, each and every bag and trunk was check. Dumbledore was amazed at what things the spell had retrieved from them: _Play Witch_ being as popular with the boys as makeup cases were with the girls. Wands were taken off of each student too and placed in a wooden chest.

Once the checking was over, Dumbledore addressed them again. "I would like you all to get into your appointed groups and go to either Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape. They will cast the spell which will send you to your destination. Take care whilst your away and try to have a good time. DO NOT forget to complete the tasks as you will not be able to pass."

Hermione gathered with her group and watched the other go. When their turn came around they stood in front of McGonagall. She held her wand above them and they all closed their eyes as she began chanting.

Hermione felt as if she was falling from a great height at a fast speed, someone pulling her from side to side as she fell. When she felt solid ground under her feet she opened her eyes.

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"Is everyone OK?" Harry asked as his eyes dashed from side to side, taking in their surroundings. 

They were standing in a open area, surrounded by a thick forest of trees.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" said Neville as he ran to a near-by bush.

Hermione rolled her eyes as Draco and Pansy snickered at him, then turned round to face Harry. "So um…where's this cottage?"

"Maybe we have to find it." replied Draco as he walked towards a muddy path. "I say we try down here."

They followed the path for about ten minutes and finally came to another opening in the trees. This opening was much larger than the last one and in the centre stood an old cottage.

"Is this it?" Pansy ask disappointedly as she took in the view.

The cottage was made out of stone and the roof was thatched, a small chimney poking out from the top left hand side. Ivy was covering most of the walls face and under the large dark windows were beds of dead flowers. The muddy path led straight to the old, wooden door.

"Nothing a little handy work can't fix!" Hermione replied as she made her way up to the door. She pushed it open and walked inside, the others followed in suit behind her.

The cottage was made up of four rooms: a living room, three bedrooms, and another small room. As they stood in the living room they saw that it didn't contain much except two sofas, a bookshelf, and a small table with a letter upon it.

Hermione walked over to the table, picked up the letter and read it aloud.

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Dear Students,

Welcome to the cottage you will now be spending the next three months of your lives in. As you might have already noticed, it isn't in good condition. Don't worry though, their is a purpose for this. 

You see, during your time here you will all have to work together to complete several tasks. As you will not be able to use your magic some tasks will be harder than others. 

As the point of this project is to help you see how difficult it would be if you were to become stranded without magic, you will have to learn to cope on your own. Therefore we shall not bee giving you any help.

If though by any chance someone is to get injured, you will find a first aid kit in the Essentials Cupboard (located in the smallest room). 

Here is the list of tasks you MUST complete:

1) You must learn to find, catch, and prepare the food

2) Retrieve wood from the forest and light it in the fireplace (you will find two axes in the essentials cupboard)

3) Fetch water from the river for drinking and bathing.

4) Return the cottage to it's former state

5) LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER AS ONE!!!

I shouldn't think these tasks are too hard so enjoy yourselves and see you when your time is up.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Dumbledore

"Does he really think we could survive living like this?" asked Neville as he sat down next to Lavender on one of the sofas, dust shooting from it as he did. "These chairs aren't very comfortable!" he coughed.

Hermione gazed around the room and spotted their luggage standing in the doorway which led to the small room. "Dumbledore has confidence in us. We will survive this and pass with flying colours. Come on, how hard can it be?" she beamed as she stepped over the luggage and into the room.

"Yeah right, have you taken a look at this place?" Pansy ran her finger across a shelf on the bookcase, leaving a trail on the dusty side. She brushed the dust off with a disgusted look on her face. "This place is a dump!"

"Oh quit complaining! Is that all you ever do?" Harry shouted at her and Draco walked straight in front of him.

"Leave off Potter, she's not used to living in such…low conditions." He shot Harry a deadly look then gave him his trademark smirk. "Bet Weasley feels right at home, his is probably just like this!"

"Shut it Malfoy!"

"Stop that right now!" Hermione had just come back into the living room and placed herself down next to Neville and Lavender. "We've only just got here and your already arguing!"

"Well he started it!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't care about who started it just as long as you both shut up! OK, now we all need to decided on how we're going to run things around here. What room we're going to be in, what chores we'll be doing…stuff like that."

The room went quiet again. They looked around at each then darted up the wooden stairs, stumbling over each other as they made their way up.

"Ouch Longbottom, what where you put your big clumsy feet!"

"Sorry Pansy."

"You better be or next time I'll make you wish you hadn't just done that!"

They reached the top landing and gawked at the three wooden doors.

"Three! They gave us three stinking rooms? But theirs six of us!" Harry shouted.

"Looks like we're gonna have to share then doesn't it Potter?" Draco grabbed Pansy hand and slid through the middle door. 

The remaining four stood on the landing. "Well, me and Lavender will take this one and you two can take that one." Hermione pointed at the door on the left.

"Sure you don't wanna share Hermione?" chuckled Harry as he winked at her.

"No way!" She slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Now help us carry up these trunks before we clonk you one."

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Hermione and Lavender sat on each of the single beds in their new room, watching Harry and Neville carry up their heavy trunks. They couldn't help but snicker as they saw them rub their backs and wipe the sweat from their foreheads.

"Dame Hermione, what on earth have you packed? The entire library or something?"

"No you two are just weak." Lavender giggled along with Hermione.

"Weak?" The boys shared a glance then pounced on the girls unexpectedly. They began tickling them and the girls let out loud laughs and they tried to shove the hands away from their sides. A loud bang came from the room next door.

"Shut the hell up in there!" Draco bellowed as he headed out of his door and down to pick up their bags. _"This is gonna be terrible with those gits!!"_

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	5. A Tearful Hermione

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AUTHORS NOTE: Thanks for all the lovely reviews, I really appreciate them all. From now on you might have to wait a little longer for my updates as I'm working really hard to make them better and longer for your enjoyment. I brought a Thesaurus the other day so it should, hopefully, be better written. Here are some replies to your reviews:

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Krisitna - I know my chapters have been kind of short but I promise you, they will become longer as the story develops. 

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FisheyBoy - Ron isn't with them in the cottage, he got put into a different group.

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A Tearful Hermione

After an hour or so, the group of students congregated in the living room to discuss the plans on how things were going to be run around the cottage. Hermione had brought down a piece of paper and a quill to write everything down.

"OK then, let's get down to business shall we?" Hermione crossed her legs and put the quill to the piece of parchment.

Harry pick up the letter Dumbledore had left them and scanned down the list of tasks. "Well it looks like we have three main daily tasks: collecting wood, food, and water." Harry's gaze met Hermione's and she scribbled down the tasks.

"I think we should split them between us all. You know, some do one and some do another," offered Neville. "I could fetch the water!" 

"'Bout all you can do!" Pansy added and both she and Draco burst out laughing. Neville turned red.

"Shut it Parkinson," spat Harry. "As if you could do anything better. All you do is whine and shoot mooneyes at Malfoy every split second!."

"You better watch your mouth Potter before I sock ya one!"

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"Yeah it is you stupid asshole!"

"Well bring it on then you flippin' ponce!" 

Both Harry and Draco shot up and began pushing each other about, passing insults back and forth. 

Neville and Lavender sat watching with amusement, finding the whole situation rather entertaining. For some reason they'd always thought it was funny when Draco and Harry started digging at one another.

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" Hermione had gotten angry with all the nonsense and was now between the two of them. "This is stupid. Is this how you're both going to behave, huh?"

"He started it!" Harry mumbled as he straightened his glasses. "That stinking git!" Harry pointed towards Draco.

"That's enough Harry!"

Draco smirked and smoothed out his robed. "Ooh, your girlfriend telling you what to do now is she?"

"_Enough _Malfoy." Hermione shot him a glare.

The room fell silent as they sat back down. Lavender and Neville tried to muffle their laughs as Hermione frowned at them.

Hermione sighed and pick up the quill and piece of parchment. "Let's just get this over with; does anyone have any experience with an axe?"

Draco raised his hand.

"Really Malfoy, we're trying to be serious here."

"I am being serious. What makes you think I'm not, huh?"

"I'm sorry it's just that, I would never have thought you'd actually done any labour in your entire life. Don't you usually have house-elves for that?" chortled Hermione.

"Ha, ha, ha." Draco laughed sarcastically. 

Clearing her throat, she wrote his name down. "OK then Malfoy. Anyone else? Harry?"

Harry shifted around uncomfortably on the chair. "I um, no I've never actually handle an axe before. Dursley's remember?"

"No worries Potter," Draco slapped him on the back. "I'll show you how to pick one up!"

"I…I'll help Neville with the water." said Lavender shyly.

"OK then. Neville and Lavender for water duty." Hermione wrote down their names. "So that leaves the food to me and…"

Pansy shot out of her seat to protest, shaking her finger at Hermione. "Oh no, I'm not working with her!! You've gotta be joking with me."

"Why? What's wrong with me?"

"You're a filthy Mudblood!"

"Excuse me?" This time it was Hermione and pansy who were shoving each other. 

"You heard me you stupid cow!"

"I've had enough of you and your snot nose remarks. You call me one more name and I'm gonna hew you all the way to China." 

Harry tried to pull her back down onto the chair but Pansy began laughing. "What are you laughing at?" The friction between the two was beginning to heat up and Hermione's jaw was clicking. 

"Have ya forgot already Granger? Your wand is back at Hogwarts."

Tears began to sting Hermione's eyes as she turned on her heal and darted up the stairs, slamming the door behind her. The remaining students looked at each other with open-mouths.

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Harry opened the bedroom door slowly and, with caution, poked his head inside. Hermione sat kneeling on her bed, face in her hands as she cried. When she noticed he was in the room she wiped her eyes and patted the space next to her. Sitting beside her, Harry pulled his best friend into his arms as she began weeping again.

"You shouldn't let her get to you like this," said Harry. "she's not worth it Hermione."

"I know but it's not just that." She lifted her head to look at him.

"Then what is it? You know you can tell me anything." He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and she wiped a stray tear off of her face.

"Well, it's just that I'm so tired of all this. I'm so sick of people giving me dirty looks and talking about me all the time." Hermione stood up and began pacing the room. "Ever since I was a little kid people have been treating me like this. I never asked to be like this you know, it's not my fault." Tears began to fill her eyes again and Harry, noticing this, pulled her into his arms once again.

"I know Hermione, none of us do but…"

"I can't take it anymore!" Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry's neck as he rubbed her back to calm her down.

"Listen to me Hermione," Peeling her arms from around his neck, Harry held her at arms length and looked into her eyes. "I know how hard this is because I've been through it too remember?" Hermione shook her head in conformation. "The only reason they pick on you is because you're a threat." Hermione, not quite understanding him, gave him a quizzical look. "Your smart, funny, caring, and beautiful Hermione. Everything their not. They know your better than them so their just trying to bring you down." Harry pulled her back in for a warming hug and stroked her hair. "Don't let them get to you OK? Your stronger than this."

Hermione wiped the final tears from her bloodshot eyes. "Thank you Harry," she whispered into his ear and kissed him on the cheek. "You're a really good friend. Thank you." 

She got up off his lap and walked over to the window and opened it. Breathing in some fresh air she turned back to Harry. "Shall we go back down then?" Harry smiled and they walked out the room of them together.

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The living room was quiet when they got downstairs seeing as everyone had gone out side. Hermione sat down on one of the old, dusty sofas as Harry went outside.

"Harry is she OK?" asked Lavender when she spotted Harry come out of the cottage. "She seemed pretty upset when she ran upstairs."

"Yeah she's a little upset at the moment. Listen guys, try not to act all sorry for her when you see her. Pity is the last thing she needs right now."

"Sure thing Harry. It's because of Pansy isn't it?" Lavender turned round to face Pansy. "You just had to open your big mouth didn't you?"

"Hey it's not my fault she gets so emotional!" Pansy bellowed.

"If you could've just left her alone for once in awhile maybe she wouldn't be like it!"

Shaking his head is disbelief, Draco parted the two arguing girls. "As much as I'd love to see you two fight, now's not the right time."

"Wow Draco! That's quite a revolution with you."

"Look OK _Longbottom,_ we need to get some supplies before night falls. Even I'm not that stupid to keep fighting all day long. You lot might want to starve and freeze tonight but I'd rather not." Draco strode back into the cottage and straight into the smallest room. Opening the door of a tall ,pine cupboard he scanned the contents.

The _Essentials Cupboard _consisted of two axes, two small carving knives, a first aid box, a couple of large water jugs and weaved baskets.

"Oi, Potter!" shouted Draco as he grabbed the two axes. "Come an' give us a hand will ya?!" He dumped the axes in Harry's arms when he entered the room. Grabbing the water jugs and baskets, he closed the door and followed Harry back into the living room.

"Bit early isn't it?" Neville asked as he checked his wristwatch. "Not even half twelve yet!"

"We don't know where anything is though do we?" Hermione replied as she retrieved one of the baskets from Draco. Their hands brushed against each other and she felt a weird tingling sensation shoot through her body. Ignoring it, she sat back down.

"We'll all go together tonight just in case we get lost." Draco said whilst handing out the rest of the supplies.

"Everyone ready to go then?" Harry asked and they all nodded. Following him, they made their way out of the cottage and towards the forest.

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	6. Apples and Oranges

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AUTHORS NOTE: Once again I'd like to thank the people who have reviewed my last chapter ^_^

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Apples and Oranges

The sunlight shone through the gaps in the canopy of green leaves, giving the forest a bright and warm atmosphere. Looking up, Hermione could see that not a single cloud was in the clear blue sky. The heat was becoming unbearable for the students as they trekked through the forest in their robes, each one praying for a cool breeze to pass them by. 

"If you asked us one more time "how much further?" I'm gonna punch you right at the side of your fat head!" Draco shouted at Neville. He'd been asking the same question for over half an hour now and it was really starting to annoy him. "How the hell are we supposed to know anyway? It's not as if we know where everything is you stupid prat!" 

"I…I was just…" stuttered Neville, trying to take a few steps back away from him.

"Yeah, well don't alright?" Neville lowered his head and took his place behind Lavender.

"Why are you always picking on him?" demanded Hermione who was now standing behind Draco with her arms crossed.

"What?" He spun round to meet her gaze.

"Can't you just leave him alone for once in awhile?"

"Shut up Granger!"

"No I wont! Why are you so against him?" Her face was now only a few inches away from his. For a few seconds they stood there, glaring at each other until Draco shook his head and turned around to address the rest of the group.

"Let's just get going, I think the river might be near by."

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After a few minutes they finally came to a wide river.

"Oh no!"

"What?" the others asked in unison. Following Hermione's gaze they saw what she was looking at. On the other side of the river stood small trees bearing different types of fruit.

"We don't have to swim over there do we?" asked Pansy

"Looks like it." Draco replied as he began taking off his shoes.

"What are you doing?" questioned Hermione as he slid his robes over his head.

"Well we've got to get across the river haven't we?" Draco was now standing in front of her in just his trousers. Hermione was trying to stop her eyes from roaming over his muscular chest by diverting her gaze to Harry (who was now starting to strip down too.) "Don't worry Granger, we wont be stripping down any further than this."

"You two," Draco was now pointing at Lavender and Neville who were holding their water jugs.

"Start collecting some water whilst we collect some food from the other side."

"We?" asked Pansy but before she knew what was happening Draco had picked her up in his arms.

"Yes we. Pick her up too Potter and we'll carry them across with us." Draco said as he nodded towards Hermione. Once Harry had picked her up they stepped into the river.

The water was cool and refreshing and the current was, well lets just say they couldn't feel any current at all. As they reached the halfway point, Draco mouthed something to Harry and he replied with a nod. 

"Ah something just hit my leg!" Draco faked a stumble.

"Don't drop me Draco!"

"Ah something just hit me too. I think there's something in this water!" The boys started stumbling around, causing the girls to panic.

Draco let go of Pansy then slid under the water. Hermione screamed and groped at Harry whilst Pansy felt under the water for Draco.

"Harry!" Harry had gone underneath too. Hermione joined in with pansy as tears filled her eyes. 

Under the water, Harry and Draco gave each other the thumbs up and grabbed the girl's legs and pulled them under. After a few seconds they came back up.

"You stupid idiot!" Hermione shouted as she wiped the water from her eyes and gasped for air. "What did you do that for?"

"It was to get you to let your hair down!" Harry laughed as Hermione pushed him back into the river playfully.

Draco and Pansy had reached the other side. "Come on you two!"

"Dracy I'm cold." Pansy pouted.

"Oh yeah? I'll warm you up when we get back then." Draco winked at her then spun round to see the other two strolling up to them. Clapping his hand together he shouted, "Come on then, let's start pickin'!"

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The trees were rather small and made it easy for them to pick their fruits and store them in the baskets.

"You know Hermione, your never going to get much done when your staring over there at them all the time." Harry pointed out as he picked yet another apple from the tree. Hermione had spent most of her time watching Draco and Pansy with disgust as they groped each other whilst working on there tree. "If I didn't know any better I'd have thought you were jealous."

"Me, jealous? Are you kidding? What would I be jealous of?" Harry raised his eyebrow at her. "I…it's not as if I care that that git is throwing herself at him! What? Stop looking at me like that!"

"If you say so." Harry laughed and went back to picking apples. Hermione was trying to avert her gaze from Draco and _her_. She had never gotten along with Pansy but lately she seemed to be getting on her nerves even more than usual. "Look, I'm your best friend and I know what your like so don't think you can deceive me."

"I'm not…"

"Don't interrupt me either. I've been watching you two lately and I've notice that you've been sneaking quick glances at him whenever you have the chance. Even he's been doing it too!" Hermione was about to object but Harry silenced her with his hand. "Don't go getting yourself involved with that waste of space, you'll end up getting yourself hurt. I don't know if you remember but you two haven't exactly had a friendly past."

"I know that but I can't help but look at him. I don't know why though. I don't have a crush on him, at least I don't think I do."

The other two were making their way over to them, Draco carrying the basket of oranges. "Let's keep it that way."

"You two finished then?" Draco asked as he placed his basket down next to theirs. 

"We can't just live of fruit and water you know?" said Hermione as she dropped the last green apple in the basket. "We're going to need some form of meet."

"We'll work on that tomorrow. Until then this will have to do." Harry picked up the heavy basket of apples and began walking back to the river. "You girls are going to have to swim across seeing as we've got to carry there."

The guys had already started to cross the river when Pansy and Hermione lifted up their robes and started after them. An orange had fallen out of the basket so Hermione picked it up and handed it back to Draco.

"Thanks Granger." Draco smiled at her and put it back with the others. Pansy glared at her.

Neville and Lavender greeted them on the other side with their jugs full of fresh water. Neville tried to pinch one of the apples but had it knocked out of his hands by Draco (who had just picked up his axe). "Don't even think about Longbottom. This food has gotta last us a few days so don't got stuffing your face with it!" 

"Well let's get started then, unless you all want to freeze tonight." Harry and Draco headed off with their axes and left the others to lounge by the river.

After 20 minutes they returned with an armful of thick branches which they had chopped off the trees. "We thought it wouldn't be such a good idea if we tried to hack down the entire tree." Harry chuckled."

"Let's get back to the cottage."

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The small fireplace was lit by a small fire in the living room, which was being fed fuel by Neville. Above the fire hung a small cauldron which was filled with boiling water. Hermione and Lavender had begun peeling the apples with the small carving knives to place inside it.

"So tell me again why we're boiling these apples?" Draco asked.

"Apples taste better when their boiled Malfoy. Well, at least I think they are." replied Hermione as she slipped a skinless apple into the water. 

"Can't I just have one that's not cooked?"

"If you want. Here you go." Hermione tossed an apple over to him and he caught.

"We really need to catch some food tomorrow." Harry sad as he peeked in the cauldron. "We can't eat stuff like this everyday."

"And how do you suppose we do that? Run around after rabbits, hoping to spring ourselves on one to eat?"

"No we make some spears." Hermione gave Draco a questioning glance. "We just need some long branches and use the knives to give them a sharp point."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know all this stuff Malfoy?"

"That's for me to know." Draco replied as he tapped his nose with his finger.

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Once they'd had something to eat (and complained about hw horrible the apples tasted) they made their way up to bed.

Hermione had got changes into her nightdress and decided to go down and fetch a glass of water whilst Lavender got changed.

The stairs creaked as she tiptoed down them. _I'm never going to be able to sneaked down if they keep making this amount of noise!_ Every now and then at Hogwarts, Hermione would sneak out of the girls dormitories to given herself some time to think in the common room. 

As Hermione turned to enter the small room she bumped into something tall and hard. Draco Malfoy.

"Watch it Granger, you almost knocked my glass of water from my hands!" Draco spat as he shoved past her and made his way back up the stairs.

"I'm sorry, there's no need to bite my head off!" She picked up a glass from the side and poured some water into it. _God, what's his problem! Maybe if he wasn't in such a rush to get back to that snob we wouldn't have knocked into each other._

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"Are you OK?" Lavender asked. "You look frustrated."

Hermione closed the bedroom door and slammed the glass of water on the side, half of it's contents spilling over it. "It's that stupid, stuck-up Malfoy!"

"What's he done know?" She patted the spot next to her and Hermione sat beside her.

"We accidentally bumped into each other downstairs and he acts like an ass! He gets on my nerves so badly that I just feel like putting my hands around his neck and strangling him!"

Lavender laughed as she plopped herself back on her own bed. "You two really should learn to get along."

"I'm trying but he makes it so hard."

"Try and ignore him then. Be the better person."

"Your right, he's not worth getting myself all worked up over. Goodnight"

They'd only just laid down for two minute when banging came from the room next to them, followed by moaning.

"Flippin' heck, do they have to start doing that? Don't they know we're all still awake?" 

Lavender chortled as Hermione tried to muffle the sound by putting her pillow over her head. 

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	7. Fish Stew

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's half-term, at last, so I'll have some more time to update and get to the good bits so try and bare with me a little longer. Thank you to those who have reviewed my last chapter. Here are some replies:

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dreamingwater: Of course I'm going to eventual hooked them up together, I'm just working my way up to it at the moment. 

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miarae: Yes it would be fun to kill Pansy off *far off look in her eyes* but it wouldn't work with the plot I've got planned I'm afraid *shakes her head*

I'm looking for a new BETA. If anyone would like to take the position, please note it in a review along with a way in which I can contact you. ^_^

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Hermione and Harry stumbled down the creaky stairs in their nightwear, rubbing the sleep out of their bloodshot eyes. They, along with the other two, hadn't managed to get much sleep last night thanks to a certain pair of Slytherin's.

Neville, who was sitting on one of the couches with Lavender, turned his head round to greet them. "Morning'"

"Good morning Neville." Hermione mumbled as she sat next to him. "Could you please pass me an apple Harry?" He nodded and scooped an apple out of the basket next to him and tossed it to Hermione. "Thank you."

Draco made his appearance a few minutes later, humming happily as he jogged down the steps. His humming came to a stop when he noticed the other staring at him gloomily. "What?" They didn't answer. "Didn't get much sleep last night then?" Draco asked when he noticed the dark patches under their eyes.

"No we didn't actually!" Hermione spat as she turned to face the opposite direction.

"What? What did I do? It's not my fault you all can't get to sleep at night." 

Hermione was about to protest when she was stopped by the sound of something tumbling down the stairs. Everyone's heads spun round to see Pansy in a pile at the bottom of the steps. Laughter filled the room as she tried to stand back up. 

"Shut up, it's not funny!" Pansy spat. "Those bloody stairs are dangerous."

"No you're the one that's dangerous."

"OK, ok, ok…maybe we should go get dressed." Hermione said whilst clutching the stitch in her side. Pansy shot her a death glare as she made her way back up the stairs, followed by the others.

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Harry stood outside carving (with one of the carving knives) the end of a long branch he managed to snap off of a nearby tree. 

"You wouldn't believe it was September would ya?" Draco said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead on his dark green sweater sleeve. He was also carving the end of a slightly longer branch. "How many of these do we need?"

"One for each of us." Harry replied as he placed his branch down onto a pile of three similar branches. "What's taking them so long?"

They'd been sat there with Neville and Pansy for about half an hour now and it seemed to them that the girls were taking more than enough time to get dressed.

"If their trying to make themselves look beautiful they might as well give up…"

"Ahem"

Draco's turned his head round to see who had interrupted him and tried his hardest not to let his jaw drop at the sight he saw. Hermione was standing in the door way wearing a tight pair of blue shorts, a matching baby-T top, and a pair of blue sandals. A few stray strands of hair managed to escape the confinements of her scrunchie, which tied her hair up at the back, and framed her face perfectly. Draco's eyes were drawn straight to her butt as she walked past him and he felt his mouth go dry. _"Merlin…she's hot!!"_

"You aught to be careful Malfoy," Lavender warned quiet enough for only Draco to hear. "you might attract flies to your mouth!" 

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The sun shined brightly down upon the students as they stood beside the river with their homemade spears.

"Can't I just stand in the shade whilst you do the catching?" Pansy whined as she fanned herself with her hand.

"We're supposed to work as a team, so no." Harry replied. He rolled up the bottoms of his jeans and stepped into the cool river with Hermione by his side.

"Right. Do you all know how to do this?" Harry's eyes wandered over the rest and saw that the only person who didn't nod in confirmation was Pansy. _"Typical!" _"Do you wanna explain it to her Malfoy?"

"Why me?"

"'Cause you're the only other Slytherin and I'm sure you'll be the only one she'll understand."

"Fine," Draco sighed and grabbed her by her hand, yanking her into the water with him. "all you need to do is hold you spear like this." He held the spear in one hand, the sharp point facing downwards. "Then," His eyes scanned the water below for a fish and spotted one. "when you spot a fish swim past you, just thrust it into the water as hard as you can." Draco drove his spear so quickly into the water that Pansy didn't realise he had until he held it up. A blue-grey fish was stuck on the sharp, wooden point. "Oh, try not to kill us whilst your at it OK?"

Hermione's eyes met Draco's as he pulled the fish off and chucked it into the wooden basket they'd brought along with them. He held her gaze for a few moments before they were interrupted by Lavender's loud cough. 

"What?" She smiled innocently ad they looked at her. "I've just got something in my throat."

"Are you three just gonna stand there or are you gonna give us a hand at catching supper?" Harry shouted over his shoulder as he rammed his spear into the water and caught a fish.

"We're coming Harry." Lavender said as she linked arms with Hermione and winked at Draco. "Come along Hermione!"

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They'd managed to catch 10 small fish that afternoon which were now laid upon a piece of parchment on the floor. The cauldron was hung above the fireplace and was happily bubbling with water. Hermione had recognised some herbs as they made their way back to the cottage and had chopped them up into small pieces and added to the water to give it some flavouring.

Harry passed Hermione a knife for her to prepare the fish. She held it in on hand which a fish in the other, contemplating whether to cut into the it or not.

"I…I can't do this." Hermione said as she dropped them back onto the piece of parchment. Just thinking about cutting the fish open and ripping out it's spine made her wanna puke over the floor. 

"Give it here" Draco had gotten out of his seat and was kneeling beside her. As he reached over to grab the knife their shoulders touched and Hermione's breath caught in her throat. "I'll do it."

The flickering light from the fire cast shadows upon his face, making him seem angelic. She stared at his face as he cut open the fish and for some reason she wanted nothing more than to kiss his lips. _"Bad Hermione, don't you go thinking about stuff like that. After all, it is Malfoy we're talking about here."_

"So what are you making anyway?" Neville asked, interrupting her from her thoughts.

"Fish stew," Draco replied and looked at Hermione. "right?"

"Uh, yes…fish stew." Hermione cleared her throat and decided it would be better if she got as far away from him as she could. Picking herself up off the floor, she sat down beside Harry.

"Are you all right Hermione?" Harry asked after noticing the ting of pink in her cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hermione tried not to but her eyes kept drifting back to Draco who was also sneaking glances of her. 

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	8. The Kiss

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all those who reviewed my last chapter and gave some suggestions for upcoming events(much appreciated). I now have a new BETA so I'd like to thank her for taking the time to check through my chapters for me _*tosses her a pack of lifesavers* _This chapter is rather short because it focuses on the one event that happens(I think you can guess what that is from the chapter title).

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The Kiss

All was quiet in the girls room as Hermione lay awake in her bed unable to sleep. The small window was ajar to allow any passing breeze to enter the warm room and hopefully cool the temperature down slightly. Rays of silver moonlight filtered through the windowpanes and highlighted the troubled expression upon her face.

Thoughts and pictures of Draco ran through Hermione's mind as she gazed up at the ceiling. She'd been trying her hardest since dinner to push the thoughts out of her head and shake the weird feeling that had resided in her stomach. Unfortunately none of her efforts prevailed. What was this feeling and why wouldn't it leave her alone?

Hermione turned onto her side and placed her hand on her shoulder where her skin still tingled. _"Weird."_

Hermione decided that maybe a glass of water and some fresh air could help clear her mind. Sliding back the covers, she got out of bed and made her way out of the room.

She crept slowly down the stairs in an attempt to not wake the others and waltzed across the living room. Not noticing the tall shadow behind her, she bent down to fill a glass with water from one of the jugs.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist and pinned her against the wall. Before she could scream for help, a hand was placed over her mouth to muffle her cries. 

"Calm down Granger," a voice whispered. "It's only me." He removed his hand to allow her to speak.

"Malfoy!" Hermione had to force herself not to shout and hit him over the head. "Are you trying to scare me to death or something?"

Draco couldn't help but snicker as she placed her hand over her fast beating heart. "Sorry about that, I won't do it again." Releasing her waist from his grip, he sat down on the couch and covered his bottom half in his quilt.

"Um, Malfoy?" Hermione had managed to control her breathing and was now sitting herself down beside him. "What are you doing down here?"

"Can't stand Pansy's snoring, she's worse than Crabbe at times." 

"Surely she's not that bad? I've heard people talk about him being able to wake up the whole of Slytherin house."

"That's Pansy actually, not Crabbe." Hermione burst out in laughter. "Don't tell her I told you though!"

Hermione was so caught up in her fit of laughter that she hadn't realised that she was leaning on Draco's bare chest.

"Granger." Her delicate touch and the fact that she was dressed in a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt was beginning to excite him. He wanted to throw her down and kiss the breath out of her at that moment.

"I'm sorry," Hermione gasped as she tried to breath. "I can't help but imagine Pansy snore-" 

Draco had taken her hand off of his chest and was holding it in his. Their eyes met and all fell silent as they gazed into each others. Before she knew what was happening their lips brushed against each others. 

The kiss lasted for only a moment as she jerked her head back in surprise. "I…I…I should go…" Hermione stuttered as she got up off the couch, only to be pulled back down onto Draco's lap.

"Don't go." Hermione was fighting the temptation to kiss him. She knew that she shouldn't be doing this, especially as it was Draco. But when she looked into his pleading eyes the rest of the world seemed to disappear and she found herself being drawn back to his inviting lips. "Please."

Their lips met again. Draco's arms slithered around her waist, pulling her closer to him as hers wrapped around his neck. The kiss was became more passionate as their lips pressed against each other. Electricity shot up through both of their bodies as they rubbed up against each other. Hermione could feel his arousal rub against her and she moaned into his mouth.

"Draco?" 

"Shit," Draco muttered as Hermione flew off of him. "It's Pansy!"

"Draco are you down there?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm down here." Draco smoothed his ruffled hair down with his hands. "I'll be up in a second OK? I just came down to get a drink."

"OK, don't take too long though."

"That was close!" Draco chuckled as he pulled Hermione in for one last kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow. Sexy." He winked at her then headed back upstairs. 

Hermione sat back down on the couch, running one finger over her swollen lips as she thought about what just happened. _"I just kissed Malfoy!"_

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	9. I'm Bored!

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them. It took me a few days to figure out exactly how I was gonna lay this chapter out so I hope you all like it? Oh, and thanks to me BETA…you've been a lot of help ^_^

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I'm Bored!!

Hermione lay beside the river in her new baby-blue bikini, sunbathing under the blazing hot sun with the other two girls as the guys swam in the cool water. She'd been so caught up in thinking about last nights events that she hadn't heard a thing about what Lavender and Pansy were arguing about.

"Earth to Hermione, are you there?….Hermione!!" She shot up when she finally heard her name being called.

"Wh…what?" 

"Finally! We've been trying to get through to you for ages." Lavender was looking at her, un-amused by that fact that her friend had been ignoring her. "Are you with us now?"

"Yeah," Hermione sat up straighter and pushed some stray strands of hair behind her ears. "what's up?"

"Well, we were just discussing who had the best chest."

"You were debating which one of you has the better chest?" 

"No not us. Them!" Lavender pointed in the direction of the three boys. Hermione's eyes were drawn straight to Draco's glistening muscular chest, her breath disappearing as she watched him dunk Neville under the water.

Pansy snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Don't go daydreaming on us again Granger. Who do you pick?"

"Um…"

"We've both agreed on Draco 'cause…"

"'Cause Malfoy's a major hottie!" Lavender interrupted.

"Interrupt me again and I'll slap you." Pansy spat at her then turned around to face Hermione again. "So, who do you pick?"

"Um…" _"Oh no, what am I supposed to say? If I say Malfoy they'll know I like him. Wait…did I just say I LIKED Malfoy?" _"…Harry?"

"Potter? You think Potter's better looking than Draco? Are you blind or something?" Before Hermione could answer, Lavender had run up to the shore.

"Hey Harry, Hermione thinks your hot!" Harry's cheeks turned rosy pink as Neville and Draco snickered.

"Nice one Potter, seems you can't go anywhere without your fan club." Draco said as he slapped Harry on the back, his eyes darting towards Hermione. _"Fucking Potter!" _

Draco dived under the water and swam towards the shore, followed by the other two.

__

*

As they walked through the forest Hermione found her eyes, once again, being drawn towards Draco butt as it swayed from side to side. _"Why does he have to have such a great ass? Damn you Malfoy!"_

"I'm bored!" Pansy moaned and turned around to pout at Draco. "Let's play a game."

"I think we're a little old to be playing games Pansy."

"But I'm bored!"

"Pansy…"

She stopped right in her tracks causing the rest of the group to halt. "Who fancies playing a game?" Her eyes scanned the crowd. "Oh come on…"

"And what do you suppose we play, huh? Hide and seek?"

"Stop being so sarcastic Draco, of course not."

"How about man hunt?" The group turned their heads in Harry's direction. 

"What the hell is "man hunt"?" Lavender questioned.

"Well, it's a bit like hide and seek…" Draco clicked his tongue. "we separate into two different groups, half are the hunters and the others are the men…" Hermione shot a look of disapproval at him. "AND women."

"Yeah, then what Potter?" Draco questioned as he shook Pansy off his arm.

"Well, the object of the game is to keep yourself from being caught by the hunters for as long as you can."

"Ooh let's play Draco, I wanna play the muggle game." Pansy pouted whilst Draco rolled his eyes.

__

"Bloody hell!" "Fine." He raised his hands in surrender, arguing with Pansy was something he couldn't be bothered to do. "On one condition thought."

Pansy let out a squeal of excitement as Harry questioned, "And what would that be?"

"That _I _get to pick the teams," Draco caught Hermione's eye and gave her a sexy wink. Hermione's legs felt like they were melting as she turned her head to hide her blush. "and I also want to be on the team which is hiding."

"Fine."

"OK then. Granger, myself and the bint," Draco pointed at Lavender. "are on one team. You three are on the other."

"WHAT?!!" Pansy protested. She moved closer to him and her voice softened as she circled her finger on his bare chest. "But I wanna be with you." 

"Tuff." Pansy's disappointed expression was priceless. "What are the rules Potter?"

Harry tried his hardest to keep in the laughter which threatened to burst out of him. "Rules? Oh yes, right." Harry took a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing. "Um, the team which is on the run has to maintain uncaught for as long as they can. You can hide where you want and can change your hiding place if you want too. We have to give you a minute head start before we can begin looking. To get you out we have to catch you and say '1, 2, 3 manhunt' whilst holding on to you."

"OK, everyone know what to do?" The group nodded. "Right, let's get going!" Draco, Lavender, and Hermione sprinted in opposite directions as the others counted up to 60.

"This sucks!" Pansy pouted as she leaned against a nearby tree.

*

Hermione felt a rush of adrenaline as she darted through the forest. It had been so long since she'd done anything like this and it felt so good to let her hair down once in awhile. This game was definitely something she could do with. She giggled as she spotted a large, wide tree and sat down behind it. _"This should do for the time being."_

Draco looked over his shoulder and began walking when the "hunters" were out of sight. _"Perfect!"_ This game was exactly what he needed to get some alone time with Hermione. Since last night all he could think about was kissing her again, feeling her body against his, and breathing in her scent. Draco smirked when he recalled the way she moaned into his mouth when his arousal rubbed against her. Oh how he'd loved to hear that moan turned into a scream. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a head of bushy brown hair poking out from behind a tree. _"Granger."_

Draco crept quietly up to where she was sitting. For a few moments he stood watching her stoke the wings of a butterfly that had settled on her hand then whispered to her. "Granger."

Hermione's hands jerked in surprise and the butterfly took off into the air. Her heart was pounding, she turned round to see Draco sitting beside her. "You idiot! You scared it a…" Draco cut her off mid-sentence with his lips. 

"Are you bored?" questioned Draco as he scanned her slender form.

"I guess so…"

"Good." Draco's lips continued to kiss her as he laid her down on the ground and climbed on top.

His hand travelled from her waist, up her stomach, and to one of her soft breasts so he could play with it. He circled the nipple with his thumb causing it to harden under his touch. A muffled moan escaped her lips and he smiled. _"Merlin, how I love that sound!"_

Hermione's legs parted as she wrapped them around his waist and used her hands to pull his face closer to hers. Tingling sensations spread throughout her body and she wanted him a close to her as possible. She gasped when their groins rubbed together and she felt his arousal.

Draco smiled when he realised what she was doing and grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head with his own. They broke the kiss and looked into each others eyes. Hermione gave him a sexy look and whispered, "I want you."

"I want you too." Draco panted as his hips ground against hers. "I want you more than you can imagine." Hermione's eyes fluttered shut as she took in the feeling of his hard member rubbing against her sex repeatedly.

She became lost in the feeling and the world disappeared from around her. She thought about what it would feel like if he was inside her and not just dry-humping her. Hermione shook that thought out of her head. _"Maybe next time. After all, we've come this far. We should probably take things slowly. I think that's for the best…"_

"Ahem." 

Draco and Hermione froze. "Did you hear something?" Draco asked.

"AHEM!" Draco rolled off of her and saw Lavender staring at them with her hands of her hips.

"Shit!"

"You might wanna put what your doing on hold as the others are pretty close." Lavender laughed as she watched them swish the dirt of their swimwear, both of them red in the face.. 

Hermione grabbed Lavender's arm as they began to run in the opposite direction of Draco. "Please don't tell anyone about what you just saw?" 

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Lavender winked at her. "I want all the juicy details though." Hermione's face turned an even brighter shade of red.

Draco stood beside the tree, wiping his face with one of his hands. "Fuck it!"

****

Wanna know what happens next? Leave me a review ^_^


	10. Author's Note

****

Author's Note:

I'm so sorry guys for making you all wait so long for update on this story. You're all waiting so patiently for me and I feel really bad about it. I've got very good reasons for being too preoccupied to write, all of which I can't tell any of you because it's mucho personal( although I that maybe one or two might know if they've been reading through my LJ).

Anyway, I thought I'd better post an A.N to let you know that I'm not dead and will be updating a soon as I can. I'm almost finished with the current chapter which has been 'causing me headaches at the moment( I'm trying to make it a good one and keep getting stuck LOL!). Once it's done I'll send it off to my beta and get it posted A.S.A.P.

So am I forgiven? Is there still people out there who'd like me to carry on with this story?


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